Ironing table top



June 15, 1965 J. R. LucAs 3,188,985

IRONING TABLE TOP Filed March 6, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 June l5, 1965 J.R. LucAs IRONING TABLE TOP 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 6, 1963INVENTOR.

JOHN E. I ucAs, .ML, Q-lm TTOI? N EYS.

IIIIIIIY United States Patent M' This invention relates to an ironingtable top and more yparticularly to an ironing table top having anexpandable nose.

It is an object of rny invention to provide an ironing table top whichcan be adjusted to provide its nose portion with a tapered or agenerally rectangular coniguration, which can be quickly and easilyadjusted to provide either of said configurations, which can beeconomically manufactured largely from inexpensive sheet-metal, andwhich will prove sturdy and durable in use.

According to one form of my invention, there is provided an ironingtable top having a depending border skirt and consisting of a main bodyportion with parallel lateral edges continuous with a nose portionhaving converging laterai edges which give said nose taperedcontiguration. Swingably connected to the lateral edges of the noseportion are a pair of generally triangularly shaped wings swing/ablebetween an extended position in which they are generally coplanar withthe upper tace or the top and their lateral edges form a substantialrectilinear continuation of the lateral edges of the body portion and aretracted position in which they are disposed under and within thelateral extent of the nose portion.

Each of said wings is swingably connected by link means to a pivot platecarried under the nose portion. The pivot plate is rotatable about anaxis normal to the plane of said top. As said plate is rotated in onedirection, said link means will swing the wings upwardly and outwardlyinto their extended position. Conversely, rotation of the plate in theopposite direction will cause said link means to swing the wingsdownwardly and inwardly into their retracted position in which they aredisposed within and below the lateral extent of the nose portion.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent fromthe more detailed description which follows and from the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FG. l is a plan view of an ironing table top embodying my invention;

FlG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary bottom plan View of the nose portionof the ironing table top shown in FlG. l;

FlG. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 3 3 of FIG. 2;

iG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 3-3of FlG. 2, but showing the nose portion in its retracted position; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 5 5 of FIG.2.

A conventional ironing table comprises a top 1t? supported on a pair ofground-engaging legs 12. Said top has a planar upper face and isprovided with the peripherally extending border skirt 1d. The topincludes a body portion 15 having parallel longitudinally extendinglateral edges 16. One end of the body portion 15 is continuous with anose portion 17' whose lateral edges converge inwardly from the bodyportion 15 to thus give said nose portion a tapered configuration.

It is frequently desirable for the ironing table top to have a uniformwidth through its length so that the lateral edges 1S of the noseportion are disposed in longitudinal alignment with the lateral edges 1dof the body portion l5. To this end, I provide a pair of generallytriangularly shaped wings 2% and 21 conveniently formed from sheetmetal,and each having a downwardly projecting flange 22 3,l38,985 PatentedJune 15, i965 along its inner edge and a stiliening bead 24 extendingaround its other edges. A plurality of hinges 26 are mounted on the wingllanges 22 and the top skirt 14 within the longitudinal extent of thelateral edges 18 of the nose portion 17. The wings Ztl and 21 areswingable about the hinge axes parallel with the plane of the top from aretracted overlapping position in which they are disposed wholly withinthe lateral extent of the nose portion 17 and an extended operativeposition in which they project laterally from said nose portion and aredisposed in generally coplanar relationship with the upper surface ofthe top. In such extended position, the outwardly presented edges of thewings are in substantial longitudinal alignment with the lateral edges16 of the body portion 15 to thus give the top 10 a substantiallyuniform width throughout its entire length. As is best shown in FIG. 4,the axes of the hinges are disposed intermediate the depth of the topskirt 1d, and the wing tlanges 22 have depths equalling about one-halfthe skirt depth. ln this manner, the flanges will substantially abut theskirt 1d when the wings are extended and the wings are free to be swunginto a fully retracted position below the nose portion 17 As shown inthe drawings, the wings are swingable between their retracted andextended position by an adjusting mechanism mounted on the wings and ona base plate 27 mounted on the underside of the nose portion 17. A pivotplate 23 is rotatably interconnected to the top 1b in parallelismtherewith by a pivot pin 3d mounted in the pivot plate 2S and receivedin a downwardly struck. offset 31 in the base plate 27. As shown, thepin Si? is normal to the plane of the top 10 and the olfset 31 is insliding face-to-tace engagement with the plate 28 adjacent said pin 3i).Conveniently, a downwardly projecting handle 33 is mounted on the plate28 to facilitate rotation thereof. A pair of brackets 34 are rotatablymounted on the underside of the wings 2) and 21 by pins 36. The brackets3d are connected to a pair of arcuate rods 3d by pivot pins 39. Theopposite end of the rod 38 interconnected to the wing 21 is connected bya pivot pin dii to a downwardly projecting bracket 42 mounted adjacentone end of the plate 28 by a pivot pin 43, and the opposite end of therod 38 interconnected to the Wing 2i) is connected by a pivot pin di) toa downwardly projecting bracket ltd mounted adjacent the opposite end ofthe plate 28 by a pivot pin 45. The pivot pins 43 and 45 form pivot axesparallel to the axis of the pin 30, and the pin 43 is disposed slightlycloser to the pin 3@ than the pin 45. As shown, a downwardly projectingannular offset d6 in the plate Z7 is radially spaced from the offset 31to engage the pins 43 and 45 for stabilizing the plate 28 againstwobbling during its rotation.

To move the wings Ztl and 21 from their retracted positions shown inFIG. 4 to their extended positions shown in FIG. 3, the plate 28 isrotated from its dotted line position to its full line position. Duringsuch rotation, the brackets d2 and d4 will rotate about their pivots d3and 45, respectively, and the brackets 34 will rotate about their pivots36. The links will swing about their connections to the brackets 3d andd2 and 44 to thus cause the wings 2? and Z1 to swing through arcs ofabout 180 until they are disposed in coplanar relationship with theupper face of the nose portion 17. As shown in FIG. 2, as the plate 28is rotated in a wing-extending direction, the pin 43 and its associatedlink 38 swing past center at point A and the pin 45 and its associatedlink swing past center at point B, the pin 45 :swinging slightly fartherpast center than pin 43. With the pins 43 and 45 and links 38 beingdisposed over center when the wings are fully extended, the wings willbe braced in `their extended positions. As will be apparent from FIG. 3,the wings are also braced in extended position by the leaves of thehinges 26 being disposed in folded abutting relationship. Convenientlyva pair of fingers 50 are mountedon the plate 27 to engage the links 38Yto limit swinging movement of the plate 28 in its wing-extendingposition.

To move the wings toitheir retracted positions, the

plate 28 is moved in a clockwise direction as viewed Vin FIG. 2. Sincethe pinl 45 swingsifarther past center than the pin 43, the wing 21 willstart torswing downwardly *be-V rotate abouttheir pivots 36. The links38 swing abouty their connections to said brackets to pull the wings and21 downwardly ,and inwardly/'through arcs of approximately 180 untilsaid wings are disposed in the dotted line position illustrated in FIG.2. t The frictional engagement of the several parts of the wingextension Vand retraction mechanism is sufcient lto releasably Aretainthe wingsvin their retractedr'overlapping position and thus' preventthem from swinging downwardly when the top 1t) is in its'normalhorizontal position. A I claim: Y

v1. In combination with an ironing table top having a body yportion withparallel lateralV edges and a nose portion extending` integrally fromone end of said body portion and having converging lateral edges',

(a)` a pair'of wing-s Aswingably connected to the opposed lateral edgesof said nose portion on axes parallel to said top, n

(b)' a pivot plate rotatably interconnected to the underside vofV saidnoseportion Von an axis normal to said top and disposed within thelateral Yextent of saidv nose portion, and

(c) a pair of links swingably interconnected tosaid pivot plate and saidpair-of wings whereby upon d movement of said pivot Vplate in onedirection said44 links will swing said wings into an extended positionVi in which-they are coplanar with said top and: their Youtwardlydisposed lateralY edgesare in substantial longitudinal alignment withthe 4lateral edges of the body portion and upon movement of saidpivot'plate in an opposite directionsaid links will swing said wingskinto a retractedposition'inV which they are disposed below and withinAthe `lateral extend to Vsaid nose portion, and Y i (d) said links beinginterconnected to said pivot plate at different distances from the axisof said pivot plate whereby the wing interconnected to the linkinterconnected .closer to the pivot plate axis will start tof y -Iwalrdits retracted positionr prior to the Yother wing i during wingretraction to permit said wings to be in overlapping relationship inretracted position. i 2. In combination lwith an ironing tablev tophaving a body portionwith parallel'Y lateral edges and a ynose portionextending integrally from one end of said body portion and havingconverging lateral edges,

(a) a pair of wings swingably connected to the border .4 skirt along theopposed lateral edges of said nose portion on axes parallel to said top,

(b) a Apivot plate rotatably mterconnected to the under-v side of saidnose portion on an axis normal to said top and disposed within thelateral extent of said Y nose portion,

(c) a rst pairofv brackets rotatably mounted on said pivot plate on axesnormal to said top and at dilerent ydistances from the axis of saidpivot plate,

(d) a second pair rofbrackets rotatably mounted on said wings on axesnormal to the planes of said wing and i i (e) a pairnof linksswingablyconnected at their opposite ends to saidfirst and'y second pairs ofbrackets lon axes parallelwith said .top `whereby upon movement of saidpivot plate in one direction said links will swing said wings into anextended position in which they are coplanar with l.said top and theiroutwardly disposed lateral edges' are in substantial longitudinalalignment with the lateral edges of the body portion and upon movementof said pivot plate in an opposite direction said links'will swing saidwings into aretracted position in which Vthey are disposedibelow andwithin the lateral extent of said nose portion,

Y(f) 4said plate upon movement in a wing-extending direction swingingsaid rst pair of brackets past a position in which said links disposedsaid wings in a coplanar ,relationshipwith the top and whereby the winginterconnectedto the brackets of said rst pair of brackets spaced,closer to the pivot plate axis will v start toward its retractedposition prior to the other wing duringnwing retraction to permit saidwings to be in overlapping relationship in retracted position.

3, Theinvention as set forth in lclaim 2 with the addition that, v Y i(a) a peripheral border skirt extends downwardly from t saidtopiand Y ,VK i (b) said pair of wings have'd'epending anges along one t of theiredges,V i y Y (c) said flanges having a depth substantially less thanthe depth of said border skirt and swingably con- I Vnected to saidborder skirt within the extent of said Y nose portion on axesintermediate the ,depth` of said t Y border skirt and parallel with saidtop.

Y 4. The inventicnr as set Yforth in claim 1 inwhich (a) means areprovided on'said top to limit the swinging movementof said links'in awing-extending direction.

References Cited bythe Examiner i l UNITED STATES PATENTS FRANKB;SHERRY',Prma ry Examiner.

1. IN COMBINATION WITH AN IRONING TABLE TOP HAVING A BODY PORTION WITHPARALLEL LATERAL EDGES AND A NOSE PORTION EXTENDING INTEGRALLY FROM ONEEND OF SAID BODY PORTION AND HAVING CONVERGING LATERAL EDGES, (A) A PAIROF WINGS SWINGABLY CONNECTED TO THE OPPOSED LATERAL EDGES OF SAID NOSEPORTION ON AXES PARALLEL TO SAID TOP, (B) A PIVOT PLATE ROTATABLYINTERCONNECTED TO THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID NOSE PORTION ON AN AXIS NORMALTO SAID TOP AND DISPOSED WITHIN THE LATERAL EXTENT OF SAID NOSE PORTION,AND (C) A PAIR OF LINKS SWINGABLY INTERCONNECTED TO SAID PIVOT PLATE ANDSAID PAIR OF WINGS WHEREBY UPON MOVEMENT OF SAID PIVOT PLATE IN ONEDIRECTION SAID LINKS WILL SWING SAID WINGS INTO AN EXTENDED POSITION INWHICH THEY ARE COPLANAR WITH SAID TOP AND THEIR OUTWARDLY DISPOSEDLATERAL EDGES ARE IN SUBSTANTIAL LONGITUDINAL ALIGNMENT WITH THE LATERALEDGES OF THE BODY PORTION AND UPON MOVEMENT OF SAID PIVOT PLATE IN ANOPPOSITE DIRECTION SAID LINKS WILL SWING SAID WINGS INTO A RETRACTEDPOSITION IN WHICH THEY ARE